Update on Haunted Bike

[ackers]

The Stelvio Board has been quite quiet for a few days so I thought I would give an update on the 'Haunted' Stelvio I purchased in March and with which I had 6 breakdowns in the first 12 weeks of ownership.

It seems that, with hindsight, much of the trouble I had with my bike could be laid at the feet of the suppliers, All Bikes of Rochdale. They failed to perform the starter motor relay recall, they fitted the battery cables wrongly, and they didnt change the plug caps when (or is that if) they did the cam follower recall.

All the above problems seriously tainted my view of what should be a fantastic bike. I have had plenty of Guzzis in the past (3 LeMans 850s, Spada, and V50 Mk2) and the concept of one of their engines put into an Adventure bike format was spot on as I have been converted to them after 5 years ownership of a Cagiva Elefant and a fleeting dallience with a KTM 950 Adventure.

Now the problems have been sorted and now that I have permanently sealed the speedo sensor in a tomb of aircraft grade sealant, all seems to be going well.

I have upgraded the headlights, fitted H&B crash bars, a Mistral Oval Can, KTM handguards, Skidmarx hugger, Givi Topbox and Givi Pannier Rails. The original Pirelli Syncs died after 3000 miles and I now have Bridgestone BT020's front and back.

Myself and 6 friends recently completed a 3 day 1200 mile trip to the Isle of Skye with no real problems (with my bike anyway). The bike proved itself smooth and easy going but with that edge above 5000 rpm when needed. The extremely testing and rough Scottish roads needed tractability rather than huge 'grunt' in the nadgery bits. The bike always felt surefooted and despite not having the hooligan tendencies of my Elefant, was able to leave most of the guys in it's wake. It even managed to reach the heady heights of 46 miles per (UK) gallon. It is far better on fuel on fast 'on and off' type roads when the throttle is being properly exercised rather than kept at a constant opening.

The bike is still growing on me and the issues I still have with it are:-
1) The paint on the 'bashplate' has been eroded by gravel - I must get round to fabricating an alloy one with the 3mm Aluminium sheet I have in the garage.
2) That stupid glove compartment still acts as an air scoop at speed. Perhaps Guzzi could make a 2.5 litre petrol header tank with the right colour cover that slots straight it and gives a bit more range. The hinge of the cubby hole takes up all the room in there anyway!!!
3) Spitting on the over-run. I have found that the engine spits back when you are on a trailing throttle but havent quite closed it fully. In my case if I let go of the throttle the spitting stops!? I never realised I was doing it because the throttle is so (too) light.

Anyway just to say that I am much happier with the bike now and I hope to keep it a few years and get it properly run in. I think 30k miles should do it.

cheers

Ackers
Preston UK

 

[draidt]

Good for you Ackers, for sticking with and sorting out the bike. I guess you could say your "Haunted Bike" came from the "Dealer from Hell !", and had to "exorcised" :laugh:

 

[ackers]

I am still pressurising the 'Dealer from Hell' with threats of litigation, mainly due to the loss of earnings I suffered when the Stelvio let me down. Even though I am much happier with the bike now I need to keep him under the thumb, mainly because I am still not sure he actually carried out the cam follower recall and, if the worst comes to the worst and it blows up, I want to be on the front foot.

It would be nice to get some freebies out of him at the very least. He sold the KTM Adventure I traded in against the Stelvio for £1400 more than he gave me!!!

Ackers

 

[kwn306]

ackers wrote:

It would be nice to get some freebies out of him at the very least. He sold the KTM Adventure I traded in against the Stelvio for £1400 more than he gave me!!!

Ackers

I am not attempting to take sides with the stealer, BUT shouldn't the dealer make a profit on your trade in? Otherwise they could not keep there doors open.

On the otherhand not completing recall and/or up grades to the Stelvio before taking delivery is uncalled for, that is unless you insisted on taking delivery of the bike before they could be accomplished.

Attempting to get freebies from a Guzzi dealer is useless, I paid cash for my Stelvio, waited 2 months to get the upgraded cams and tappets and it sat in the dealers shop, not in my garage (my choice). Moto Guzzi Corporate could have cared less that I didn't have a bike to ride, they had their money. I wrote a two page letter to Corporate, had a return receipt so I know who I sent it to in NY received it. I never received a reply. Piaggio Corporate could care less about the lousy sales and customer service in the USA, it is refreshing to hear that it is not just on this side of the pond either.

 

[fatal]

Ackers, that is heartening news. I hope to put all the initial problems behind me when my bike is sorted.

My Stelvio was taken into Millenium motorcycles just over two weeks ago to have the cam recall done, plus the first service, headlamp realignment, speedo sensor replacement, and side stand replacement. So far they've managed to do the headlamps and speedo sensor. They are still waiting for the camshafts, and replacement sidestand, they are at present unable to complete the service because they can't get the oil filter off!!! Some gorilla at Guzzi has well overtightened it.
I didn't mind the bike going in a couple of weeks ago as I was setting off on a bike trip to Spain on my Triumph, however I now want to lay up my Tiger and use the Stelvio for the rest of the summer, I'm starting to feel my paitience reach it's limit, I believe the dealer is doing their best to get the parts, but the Guzzi parts supply system is p*ss poor.
I'm so glad I've got my Triumph to fall back on.

 

[draidt]

fatal wrote:

Ackers, that is heartening news. I hope to put all the initial problems behind me when my bike is sorted.

My Stelvio was taken into Millenium motorcycles just over two weeks ago to have the cam recall done, plus the first service, headlamp realignment, speedo sensor replacement, and side stand replacement. So far they've managed to do the headlamps and speedo sensor. They are still waiting for the camshafts, and replacement sidestand, they are at present unable to complete the service because they can't get the oil filter off!!! Some gorilla at Guzzi has well overtightened it.
I didn't mind the bike going in a couple of weeks ago as I was setting off on a bike trip to Spain on my Triumph, however I now want to lay up my Tiger and use the Stelvio for the rest of the summer, I'm starting to feel my paitience reach it's limit, I believe the dealer is doing their best to get the parts, but the Guzzi parts supply system is p*ss poor.
I'm so glad I've got my Triumph to fall back on.

Can't get the filter off !!!! Does the filter in the Stelvio sit in a recessed area on the sump as is the 1200 2v motors ? If so tell the (dealer ?) to remove (drop) the sump and use a fricken strap wrench to take it off. Sorry but dumb excuses from someone who gladly took your money just pisses me off.

 

[Mike.C]

I just have to say, the Stelvio wins again!

My point is that Acker's experience is another proof of what I have suspected for ages now - that the Stelvio is fundamentally a good design. After any gremlins caused by dealers and other unfortunate crap is sorted out they will become a life long bike.

Don't take this the wrong way guys, It's just that this story has been played out several times now on this board, and the result has generally been the same as Ackers' experience.

I look forward to "sorting out" my Stelvio - if Guzzi are gracious enough to allow me to buy one from them B)

 

[WayneOrwig]

fatal wrote:

they are at present unable to complete the service because they can't get the oil filter off!!! Some gorilla at Guzzi has well overtightened it.

That is a just crazy. And people wonder why I do basically 100% of my own work.

There are a dozen good ways to get a filter off, one pointed out by Dan.

Besides, they have NO reason to touch the filter until AFTER they have the new cams in place AND completed the called for engine flush. So I call BS on that story.

If they are busy, don't want to, or can't do the job, fine. But to BS a customer pisses me off.

BTW, Piaggio is paying THEM for the oil and filter during the cam job. If you pay them also, you are getting ripped off.

 

[FrostBittenCanadian]

uummmm, I just would like to know how many people out there bought an Italian motorcycle expecting it to have : no support issues, no quirks or glitches and especially your average bike dealer that sells Honda, Suzuki,or whatever else to be right on top of a line that they seel maybe 1 for every 5 or more of the other brands? First, I would like to know the historical basis for an Italian vehicle being ride/drive it and forget it. One of the dealers I checked out in Toronto who were a multi brand dealer, told me a Griso had an Aluminum frame " cause they only use steel on cruiser bikes for frames now" and " I think it's 1000cc" ... Guess what, I didn't spend 20,000.00 dollars in their shop! The dealer I bought from is owned by the importer to this country and the guy who runs it eats, sleeps and breathes, Aprillia, Guzzi,Vespa. Strange , I have no complaints with the Sales staff, or service to date, they all know my first name and so do the two brothers that own the whole show. Choose carefully. You all should check out the Honda/Yamaha/ Suzuki/ Kawasaki situation in this city. There are maybe 1 or 2 as far as Yam/Kaw. are concerned and the only ones for Honda/ Suz are CAR DEALERS! Talk about not giving a rats ass. You can walk into a Honda/ suzuki place and be ignored for hours if you look at bikes,never mind get decent service or find some one knowledgeable. I'm just sayin...
FBC
P.S. Ackers if you like the bike, carry on, I personally love mine and figure other than the engine blowing or shit outright breaking, I pretty much signed up for this party.

 

[WayneOrwig]

fatal.....

Keep this in mind also. If they don't have a proper tool to take off a tight oil filter, they may not have the tool to properly tighten the replacement filter. This can (and has) resulted in filters coming loose and trashing motors.

 

[FrostBittenCanadian]

The Snap on truck has lots of them, filter removing devices and such.
FBC

 

[kwn306]

fatal wrote:

Ackers, that is heartening news. I hope to put all the initial problems behind me when my bike is sorted.

My Stelvio was taken into Millenium motorcycles just over two weeks ago to have the cam recall done, plus the first service, headlamp realignment, speedo sensor replacement, and side stand replacement. So far they've managed to do the headlamps and speedo sensor. They are still waiting for the camshafts, and replacement sidestand, they are at present unable to complete the service because they can't get the oil filter off!!! Some gorilla at Guzzi has well overtightened it.
I didn't mind the bike going in a couple of weeks ago as I was setting off on a bike trip to Spain on my Triumph, however I now want to lay up my Tiger and use the Stelvio for the rest of the summer, I'm starting to feel my paitience reach it's limit, I believe the dealer is doing their best to get the parts, but the Guzzi parts supply system is p*ss poor.
I'm so glad I've got my Triumph to fall back on.

Same problem my "Guzzi only dealer" had. It took the two of us 2 hours to get the oil filter off and this dealer has every specail tool know to the Snap-on man. Finally we took an old tube from a tire and cut strips of rubber and lined the proper sized oil filter wrench and drove it on with a hammer and the filter came loose. But the gasket stayed on the bike, it took another 30 minutes to get the gasket off, someone at the factory glued it on with gasket sealer.

We took pictures and sent it to NY for them to see, it appears that Luigi likes to play games after a liquid lunch.:angry:

 

[draidt]

kwn306 wrote:

fatal wrote:

Ackers, that is heartening news. I hope to put all the initial problems behind me when my bike is sorted.

My Stelvio was taken into Millenium motorcycles just over two weeks ago to have the cam recall done, plus the first service, headlamp realignment, speedo sensor replacement, and side stand replacement. So far they've managed to do the headlamps and speedo sensor. They are still waiting for the camshafts, and replacement sidestand, they are at present unable to complete the service because they can't get the oil filter off!!! Some gorilla at Guzzi has well overtightened it.
I didn't mind the bike going in a couple of weeks ago as I was setting off on a bike trip to Spain on my Triumph, however I now want to lay up my Tiger and use the Stelvio for the rest of the summer, I'm starting to feel my paitience reach it's limit, I believe the dealer is doing their best to get the parts, but the Guzzi parts supply system is p*ss poor.
I'm so glad I've got my Triumph to fall back on.

Same problem my "Guzzi only dealer" had. It took the two of us 2 hours to get the oil filter off and this dealer has every specail tool know to the Snap-on man. Finally we took an old tube from a tire and cut strips of rubber and lined the proper sized oil filter wrench and drove it on with a hammer and the filter came loose. But the gasket stayed on the bike, it took another 30 minutes to get the gasket off, someone at the factory glued it on with gasket sealer.

We took pictures and sent it to NY for them to see, it appears that Luigi likes to play games after a liquid lunch.:angry:

See that hole in the sump ? That's were the filter resides, drop sump 14 bolts and viola whole filter is exposed to attack with a strap wrench.
A lot easier then trying to get it off with the possibility of cracking the sump if you attempt to pry it off.

 

[kwn306]

FrostBittenCanadian wrote:

uummmm, I just would like to know how many people out there bought an Italian motorcycle expecting it to have : no support issues, no quirks or glitches and especially your average bike dealer that sells Honda, Suzuki,or whatever else to be right on top of a line that they seel maybe 1 for every 5 or more of the other brands? First, I would like to know the historical basis for an Italian vehicle being ride/drive it and forget it. One of the dealers I checked out in Toronto who were a multi brand dealer, told me a Griso had an Aluminum frame " cause they only use steel on cruiser bikes for frames now" and " I think it's 1000cc" ... Guess what, I didn't spend 20,000.00 dollars in their shop! The dealer I bought from is owned by the importer to this country and the guy who runs it eats, sleeps and breathes, Aprillia, Guzzi,Vespa. Strange , I have no complaints with the Sales staff, or service to date, they all know my first name and so do the two brothers that own the whole show. Choose carefully. You all should check out the Honda/Yamaha/ Suzuki/ Kawasaki situation in this city. There are maybe 1 or 2 as far as Yam/Kaw. are concerned and the only ones for Honda/ Suz are CAR DEALERS! Talk about not giving a rats ass. You can walk into a Honda/ suzuki place and be ignored for hours if you look at bikes,never mind get decent service or find some one knowledgeable. I'm just sayin...
FBC
P.S. Ackers if you like the bike, carry on, I personally love mine and figure other than the engine blowing or shit outright breaking, I pretty much signed up for this party.

Frost Bite.......

I agree with you, you need to purchase a Guzzi from a Piaggio only dealer; a big box multi brand store will give you terrible service. But not all Guzzi only dealerships know what the hell they are doing, especially the ones that have only been in business a few years.

I did a lot of research before purchasing my Stelvio, talked to at least 25 Guzzi owners, they all stated I would have little problems when I 1st purchased the bike, BUT a good Guzzi only dealer would get them sorted out during the pre delivery (before I picked it up). For the most part I would say that is true. What gets me is the lack of support from Piaggio to the dealerships, unless you have been around forever and that is no guarantee either.

This being said, besides the cam/tappet up grade being done to my Stelvio it had the plug caps replaced before I took delivery. Since that time it has had four speed sensors installed and three floats in the fuel tank, the bike has less than 15,000 miles on it. Right now I have the original speed sensor reinstalled covered in RTV; it appears to be holding up in the wet weather. I still don’t have an operational fuel gauge, it never will read full and after spending $16,000 USD for the bike I expect it to work.

Guzzi is hurting for market share, Piaggio doesn’t give (in my opinion) attention to detail to its problems (little quirks) One unhappy customer can do more harm to a brand than 25 happy ones, especially in this day and age with the Internet.

I purchased my Guzzi after being totally displeased with a 2006 HD Ultra Classic, the thing constantly overheated in traffic. In 2 yrs I put 56,000 miles on the bike, it sat in my garage from mid May to the end of Sept because it could not handle the summer temps and stop and go traffic. HD Corporate told me I was putting to many miles on the bike. I took a loss and sold the HD and purchased the Stelvio after talking to many Guzzi owners and them telling me the more miles I put on the bike the happier it will be. To date the bike has never run hot, but when the speed sensor fails and a LEO pulls you over for speeding it kind of hard to fight the ticket in court when Guzzi can not give me a part that will work properly.

Don’t get me wrong I LOVE the bike; I just hate the parent company.

 

[kwn306]

draidt wrote:

kwn306 wrote:

fatal wrote:

Ackers, that is heartening news. I hope to put all the initial problems behind me when my bike is sorted.

My Stelvio was taken into Millenium motorcycles just over two weeks ago to have the cam recall done, plus the first service, headlamp realignment, speedo sensor replacement, and side stand replacement. So far they've managed to do the headlamps and speedo sensor. They are still waiting for the camshafts, and replacement sidestand, they are at present unable to complete the service because they can't get the oil filter off!!! Some gorilla at Guzzi has well overtightened it.
I didn't mind the bike going in a couple of weeks ago as I was setting off on a bike trip to Spain on my Triumph, however I now want to lay up my Tiger and use the Stelvio for the rest of the summer, I'm starting to feel my paitience reach it's limit, I believe the dealer is doing their best to get the parts, but the Guzzi parts supply system is p*ss poor.
I'm so glad I've got my Triumph to fall back on.

Same problem my "Guzzi only dealer" had. It took the two of us 2 hours to get the oil filter off and this dealer has every specail tool know to the Snap-on man. Finally we took an old tube from a tire and cut strips of rubber and lined the proper sized oil filter wrench and drove it on with a hammer and the filter came loose. But the gasket stayed on the bike, it took another 30 minutes to get the gasket off, someone at the factory glued it on with gasket sealer.

We took pictures and sent it to NY for them to see, it appears that Luigi likes to play games after a liquid lunch.:angry:

See that hole in the sump ? That's were the filter resides, drop sump 14 bolts and viola whole filter is exposed to attack with a strap wrench.
A lot easier then trying to get it off with the possibility of cracking the sump if you attempt to pry it off.

Trouble of it is.............its not supposed to work that way :S The Italians need to learn some quality control from the Jap bike manufactures and stay away from the red wine at lunch.

 

[WayneOrwig]

kwn306 wrote:

Trouble of it is.............its not supposed to work that way :S The Italians need to learn some quality control from the Jap bike manufactures and stay away from the red wine at lunch.

True. But the point is, there is no reason to let the bike sit in the corner of the shop. There are several ways to get that filter off and get the bike rolling.

 

[Geordie]

I've used the "whack a couple of screwdrivers through the filter and lever a crow bar between them" to loosen a filter.

It never seems to work that well for tightening the new one though ;-)

 

[fatal]

I did suggest that removing the sump could be a possible solution, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears, besides I'd have to wait about four weeks for a new sump gasket! :laugh:
The wait for the parts I can understand, but the oil filter thing is rediculous, and as someone has posted, surely the oil and filter should be done after the cam change.
I will be reluctant to take my bike back to this shop for any more service work, but they are convieniently near to me, about 5 miles. The next nearest is about 30 miles. Once out of warranty I shall do most of the maintenance myself.

 

[ackers]

Fatal

As I said, I have used Millennium a couplle of times and Graham the service manager has been a diamond in getting things sorted and also seems well placed for contacting Alan Rodgers the Aprilia dealer support who seems to get things done IF he can be contacted.

However I was a bit taken aback a bit the first time I took the Stelvio to them when the first starter motor died. I turned up really early just as the mechanics were having their morning brew outside the workshop. I took Graham out to show him the problem. The mechanics gathered round as I pressed the button and the starter motor whirred but didnt engage.

The oldest of them stepped forward and listened as I tried again. He looked haggard and worldly wise. He stroked his chin and pondered. I couldnt wait, I was expecting some Shaolin style phlosophical gem of an opinion.

Finally after what seemed an age of waiting he pronounced his theory..........................
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"I think your starter motors broken!!!!!"
.
.
.
.
.
"No Sh*t Sherlock" - was my reply!!!!!


In the time it had taken him to think of that I could have had the starter motor in 40 bits on a workbench lined up like an SAS stripped machine gun. I knew exactly what was wrong with it. For crying out loud I have owned enough Guzzi's. I can strip a starter motor in my sleep. The starter motor clutch had failed probably because the relay recall wasnt done and it had been engaging (not in an Edwardian Tea-room style) whilst I was riding.

People pay these dipsticks. If the answer isnt flashing at them from a computer screen they cant figure it out. I can feel my father spinning in his grave!!!!!

Came to work on my Elefant this morning. The Stelvio is good - there is no doubt - but the Elefant has something else albeit in a completely uncvilised and anti social way. Ever since I transplanted Ducati 900SS cylinder heads on a couple of years ago it has become a snarling, tyre chewing monster, and, because it only weighs 390lbs it is like riding a 500cc except for the massive torque and ear shattering noise!! If I am feeling like a civilised, middle class businessman I take the Stelvio. If I feel like Cohen the Barbarian (Disc World books) I take the Elefant.

One more thing. When I bought the Stelvio brand new, it was the first time I had bought a totally new bike. I assumed that after paying the best part of £8k on a bike it would be perfect and, if not, the dealers/manufacturers woyld be tripping up over themselves to sort it out. Otherwise the forums would fill with bad reviews. I was naive and totally wrong. They couldnt give a toss - that is why eventually they will fail because someone (Triumph?) will begin to understand customer service and offer it without prompting/threatening.

Ackers

 

[kwn306]

ackers wrote:

Fatal

As I said, I have used Millennium a couplle of times and Graham the service manager has been a diamond in getting things sorted and also seems well placed for contacting Alan Rodgers the Aprilia dealer support who seems to get things done IF he can be contacted.

However I was a bit taken aback a bit the first time I took the Stelvio to them when the first starter motor died. I turned up really early just as the mechanics were having their morning brew outside the workshop. I took Graham out to show him the problem. The mechanics gathered round as I pressed the button and the starter motor whirred but didnt engage.

The oldest of them stepped forward and listened as I tried again. He looked haggard and worldly wise. He stroked his chin and pondered. I couldnt wait, I was expecting some Shaolin style phlosophical gem of an opinion.

Finally after what seemed an age of waiting he pronounced his theory..........................
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"I think your starter motors broken!!!!!"
.
.
.
.
.
"No Sh*t Sherlock" - was my reply!!!!!


In the time it had taken him to think of that I could have had the starter motor in 40 bits on a workbench lined up like an SAS stripped machine gun. I knew exactly what was wrong with it. For crying out loud I have owned enough Guzzi's. I can strip a starter motor in my sleep. The starter motor clutch had failed probably because the relay recall wasnt done and it had been engaging (not in an Edwardian Tea-room style) whilst I was riding.

People pay these dipsticks. If the answer isnt flashing at them from a computer screen they cant figure it out. I can feel my father spinning in his grave!!!!!

Came to work on my Elefant this morning. The Stelvio is good - there is no doubt - but the Elefant has something else albeit in a completely uncvilised and anti social way. Ever since I transplanted Ducati 900SS cylinder heads on a couple of years ago it has become a snarling, tyre chewing monster, and, because it only weighs 390lbs it is like riding a 500cc except for the massive torque and ear shattering noise!! If I am feeling like a civilised, middle class businessman I take the Stelvio. If I feel like Cohen the Barbarian (Disc World books) I take the Elefant.

One more thing. When I bought the Stelvio brand new, it was the first time I had bought a totally new bike. I assumed that after paying the best part of £8k on a bike it would be perfect and, if not, the dealers/manufacturers woyld be tripping up over themselves to sort it out. Otherwise the forums would fill with bad reviews. I was naive and totally wrong. They couldnt give a toss - that is why eventually they will fail because someone (Triumph?) will begin to understand customer service and offer it without prompting/threatening.

Ackers

Another satisfied MG customer..........maybe one of the Moderators could forward this thread to MG Corp. on both sides of the pond, it appears stupidity is running a muck on both shores :S